What We’re Reading —

As Americans Drink Less Alcohol, Booze Makers Look Beyond the Barrel

Brewers and liquor companies seek nonalcoholic alternatives as beer volumes fall and growth in wine, spirits slows.  (Wall Street Journal)

 

America’s Government Shutdown Is an Act of Economic Self-Harm

The closure of the Tax and Trade Bureau, for example, means that no new labels for nationally distributed beer can be approved, creating a headache for John Laffler of Off Color, an Illinois-based brewer. He wants to launch a new beer, and is keen to package it as soon as possible. He could gamble, pay for packaging and hope that the approval arrives. But that is risky, as there is no knowing what the regulators will approve. (He recalls a droopy-eyed fish being rejected. Demonic ladies dancing with goats were fine.) A wrong decision would cost him money.

Kevin Hassett, chairman of the Trump administration’s Council of Economic Advisers, said on January 15th that after taking into account unpaid government contractors, his officials had recently doubled their estimates to a hit worth 0.1 percentage points per week. Congress has passed legislation to ensure that federal employees receive back pay. Although the government will have to pay its contractors (with interest) once the shutdown ends, in the past many of those companies did not pass the cash along to workers.   (The Economist)

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